Spinner takes aim at 'fragile' Australian batsmen

CHENNAI: Indian spinner Ravindra Jadeja has taken aim at Australia’s fragile batsmen, saying they are susceptible in the subcontinent because of their “ego”.

The left-arm orthodox all-rounder was a key figure as Australia crashed to the brink of defeat in the first Test on Monday, with only Moises Henriques’ defiant 75 not out stringing the match into a fifth day.

Jadeja, who starred alongside Ravi Ashwin and Harbajan Singh on day four, said India had identified a glaring weakness in the approach of the Australian batsmen. India were beaten 2-1 at home late last year by Alastair Cook’s England, but he said Michael Clarke’s batsmen were more prone to come unstuck playing loose shots.

“The difference between the English batsmen and the Australians is the English guys are a lot more patient,” Jadeja said. “If we bowl maidens to the Australians, they have an ego.

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“If we contain them for four overs, we feel like they will play a rash shot. That's what we're expecting from them.”

Australia, with Henriques and Nathan Lyon (8 not out) clinging on, are 40 runs ahead entering the fifth day and barring something miraculous – for instance rain in Chennai – an India win will be wrapped up on Tuesday.

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“We want to get them out as quickly as possible tomorrow and then score runs quickly,” Jadeja said.

Henriques, who has been outstanding with the bat on debut after 68 in the first innings, insists however that not all is lost. While others foundered he stayed alive in the challenging conditions and with 25 more runs would become Australia’s first century maker on debut since Shaun Marsh in September 2011.

“We haven’t lost this Test yet,” Henriques said. “There’s certainly a lot of hope and from my point of view you just don’t know what can happen. The odds are stacked against us at the moment but we go into tomorrow being the underdog and whether it’s rain, whatever it is, you just never know.

“Nathan Lyon and myself have to go out tomorrow and start again in the tough conditions and see what we can do. Our backs are up against the wall but there's nothing else we can go do except go out there and try to enjoy it.”

The 26-year-old NSW all-rounder found the key to batting on the treacherous Chennai deck while others fell victim to Ashwin, Singh and Jadeja.

“It’s that type of wicket where you almost have to concentrate as if every ball is your first one because you have to stay sharp and make sure you’re alert for that one that does act a little differently,” he said.

“Sometimes you will get one that you just can’t do anything about.

“If you get out to that one, that’s fine. But you’ve just got to try and predict how they’re trying to get you out and combat that as well as you can.”

He said the wicket had been extremely difficult for Australia’s seam bowlers to adjust to, particularly in the face of MS Dhoni’s double-century fireworks.

"There's not much bounce. You do have to keep charging in,” he said. “Hats off to James Pattinson for the way that he bowled.

“He just kept steaming in and bashing a length and creating opportunities. There's no seam. I don't think one has moved off the seam for four days.

"There's no natural swing at all. If anything there's a little bit of reverse. Once the wicket is that dead, the batters have got so much time to react to the reverse swing. It is a tough slog.”